City’s waste continues to be dumped without segregation

LAHORE: With the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) failing to establish a recovery centre to segregate and recycle waste, the development of which was proposed two years ago, almost all collected waste is being dumped at a landfill site near Lakhodair, Pakistan Today has learnt.

As per the details, thousands of tons of waste is being produced on a daily basis in Lahore alone and while there is no data to determine the actual quantity of the waste, LWMC is managing to collect some 7,000 tons from the provincial capital and dump it at its landfill site.

Earlier, the waste used to be dumped at the Mehmood Booti dump site but after the grave concerns of town planners, a scientific landfill site was established in Lakhodair, aiming to dump the city waste in a scientific manner.

Sources in LWMC informed that while opening the scientific landfill site in 2016, the company had also announced to establish a waste recovery facility centre. “For the purpose, City District Government Lahore (CDGL) had handed over the required land in August 2016 at Sundar, an area 30km away from Lahore,” they said and added that in August 2017, Planning and Development department had also approved the funds needed to begin with the construction work.

According to the official records of LWMC, at least 1,000 tons out of the total collected waste was being provided to DG Khan Cement while 500 tons was being dumped at LWMC’s compost plant. However, all the remaining waste was being dumped without segregation.

Sources said that initially the waste recovery facility centre was supposed to segregate 1,000 tons of waste collected from southern areas of Lahore. “The purpose of the centre was to segregate all kinds of waste, including debris collected from different construction places, plastic waste, metals and other wastes that could be utilised in an effective way,” they added.

Worldwide Fund-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) Director General Hammad Naqi Khan told Pakistan Today that recycling of waste was simple and it could contribute a lot in making the environment better. He said that due to lack of proper recycling centres, thousands of tons of waste that could be utilised, was not being properly recycled.

“The beauty of recycling is that it will help you conserve resources and prevent loss of biodiversity, ecosystems and rainforests,” Khan added.

LWMC P&P GM, Saad, while talking to Pakistan Today confirmed that P&D department had approved funds worth Rs21 million to execute the project but despite the passing of over a year, not even a single penny had been released. “If the government releases the approved funds, LWMC will be able to establish the waste recovery facility centre within a short span of time,” he added.